Sunni Feedback on The Issues of Infallibility and Ahulbayt [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

On the Companions who Murdered Uthman
A Wahhabi mentioned:
AMIRUL MU'MINEEN MU3AWIYA IBN ABI SUFYAN RADIYA ALLAHU
3ANHU
SIFFIN
Muawiya felt that the killers of Amirul Mumineen
Uthmaan RA (the
fathers of Shiasm) should not be allowed to continue
their evil
against Islaam.

He did not fight for personal
power.

Ali did not hand over these assassins to Muawiya due to
some
sound and concrete proof that he possessed.
Thus
the people of
Shaam joined forces with Muawiya against Ali.

It is not surprising that this Wahhabi has overlooked what
the Messenger of
Allah (PBUH&HF) said about the fate of those who will
fight Imam Ali (AS)
which are recorded in what they call Sahih books, and stick
to what is
fabricated by the Leader of the Hypocrites (Amir al-Munafiqeen)
Muawiyah
(LA) himself.

After all, I should not expect from
their Wahhabi mentors to
do better than that for bread and butter.

The claim that Muawiyah raised against the legitimate Caliph
of his time
and killed thousands of Muslims to take revenge from the
murderers of
Uthman is a flat-out lie! Had Muawiyah this in mind, he
should first kill
the commander of his army and many of his assistants for the
Sunni history
testifies that those who killed Uthman were the companions
who were on the
side of Muawiyah (as well as other opponents of Imam Ali).

The
fact is that
any deceitful power-hungry leader needs to provide an excuse
for his
horrible acts, and this was not unique to Muawiyah.

As
we can see in the
following Sunni references, those who agitated against Uthman
were ones who
came first to revenge for his blood with one aim in their
mind, that was
destroying the rule of Imam Ali (AS).

Sunni historians confirm that the agitation against the
Caliph started by
some influential individuals among the companions.

The
weakness of Uthman
in handing the affairs of the State caused many companions to
oppose him.
This naturally resulted in a power struggle among the
influential
companions in Medina.

Sunni historians such as al-Tabari,
Ibn Athir, and al- Baladhuri and many others provide traditions which confirm
that these
companions were the first who asked the other companions,
resided in other
cities, to join them in revolt against Uthman.

Ibn
Jarir al-Tabari
reported:

When the people saw what Uthman was
doing, the companions of the
Prophet in Medina wrote to other
companions who were scattered
throughout the frontier provinces:

You have gone forth but to
struggle in the path of Almighty
God, for the sake of Muhammad's
religion.

In your absence
the religion of Muhammad has been corrupted
and forsaken.

So come back
to reestablish Muhammad's religion.
Thus,
they came from every direction until
they killed the Caliph (Uthman).

Sunni reference:

History of al-Tabari, English version, v15,
p184
In fact al-Tabari quoted the above paragraph form Muhammad
Ibn Is'haq Ibn
Yasar al-Madani who is the most celebrated Sunni Historian
and the author
of Sirah Rasool-Allah.

History testifies that those influential people who were the
key element in
agitation against Uthman include Talha, Zubair, Aisha (the
mother of
believers), Abdurrahman Ibn Ouf, and Amr Ibn al-Aas (the army
commander of
Muawiyah).

a) Talha

Talha Ibn Ubaydillah was one of the biggest agitator against
Uthman and was
the one who plotted his murder.

He then used that
incident for revenge
against Ali by starting the first civil war in the history of
Islam (i.
e.
,
the battle of Camel).

I just give few paragraphs
from both of al-Tabari and
Ibn Athir to prove my point.

Here is the first one
which is narrated by Ibn
Abbas (in some manuscripts it is Ibn Ayyash):
I entered Uthman's presence (During
the agitation against Uthman) and
talked with him for an hour.

He
said: Come Ibn Abbas/Ayyash, and he
took me by the hand and had me
listen to what the people were saying
at his door.

We heard some
say, what are you waiting for, while
others were saying, wait,
perhaps he will repent.

While the two of
us were standing there (behind the
door and listening), Talha Ibn
Ubaydillah passed by and said:

Where is Ibn Udays? He was told, He
is over there.

Ibn Udays
came to (Talha) and whispered something with
him, and then went back to his
associates and said: Do not let anyone
go in (to the house of Uthman) to
see this man or leave his house.

Uthman said to me: These are
the orders of Talha.

He continued, O
God! Protect me from Talha for he
has provoked all these people
against me.

By God, I hope
nothing will come of it, and that his own
blood will be shed.

Talha
has abused me unlawfully.
I heard the
Messenger of God said: 'The blood of
a Muslim is lawful in three
cases: apostasy, adultery, and the
one who kills except in legitimate
retaliation for another.

'
So why should I be killed?
Ibn Abbas/Ayyash continued: I wanted
to leave (the house), but they
blocked my path until Muhammad Ibn
Abi Bakr who was passing by
requested them to let me go, and
they did so.

Sunni reference:

History of al-Tabari, English version, v15,
pp 199-200
The following report also supports that the murder of Uthman
was led by
Talha, and the killers came out to inform their leader that
they took care
of Uthman:

Abzay said: I witnessed the day they
went in against Uthman.

They
entered the house through an opening
in the residence of Amr Ibn Hazm.
There was a skirmishing and they got
in.
By God, I have not forgotten
that Sudan Ibn Humran came out and I
heard him say: Where is Talha
Ibn Ubaydillah? We have killed Ibn
Sunni reference:

History of al-Tabari, English version, v15,
p200 Uthman was besieged in Medina while Imam Ali (AS) was in
Khaibar.

The Imam
(AS) came to Medina and found people gathering at the
residence of Talha.
Then Imam Ali (AS) went to met Uthman.

Ibn Athir
wrote:
Uthman said to Ali: You owe me
my Islamic right and the right of
brotherhood and relationship.

If
I have non of these rights and if I
were in pre-Islamic era, it would be
still shame for a descendants of
Abd Munaf (of whom both Ali and
Uthman are descendants) to let a man
of Tyme (Talha) rob us of our
authority.

Ali said to Uthman: You
shall be informed of what I do.

Then Ali went to Talha's house.
There
were a lot of people there.

Ali
spoke to Talha saying: Talha, what is
this condition in which you have
fallen? Talha replied: O' Abul
Hasan! it is to late!

Sunni reference:

al-Kamil, by Ibn Athir, v3, p84
Tabari also reports the following conversation between Imam
Ali and Talha
during the siege over Uthman:
Ali said to Talha: I ask you
by Allah to send people away from
(attacking) Uthman.

Talha replied: No, by God, not until the Umayad
voluntarily submit to what is right.
(Uthman was the head of Umayad).

Reference:

History of al-Tabari, English version, v15, p235 Talha even deprived Uthman of water:
Abdurrahman Ibn al-Aswad said:
I constantly saw Ali avoiding (Uthman)
and not acting as he formerly had.

However,
I know that he spoke with
Talha when Uthman was under siege,
to the effect that water skins
should be taken to him.

Ali
was extremely upset (from Talha) about
that until finally water skins were
allowed to reach Uthman.

Sunni reference:

History of al-Tabari, English version, v15,
pp 180-181 Now let us take a look at a report from the battle of Camel
which has been
mentioned in numerous Sunni books of History and Hadith.

The
following
report proves that even the Umayad leaders such as Marwan who
(along side
with Talha) was fighting against Imam Ali, knew that Talha
and Zubair were
the killers of Uthman.

Sunni scholars recorded that
Yahya Ibn Sa'id
narrated:
Marwan Ibn al-Hakam who was in the
ranks of Talha, saw Talha is
retreating (when his army was being
defeated in the battlefield).
Since he and all Umayad recognized
him and al-Zubair as the murderers
of Uthman, he shot an arrow at him
and severely wounded him.

He then
said to Aban, the son of Uthman,
that: I have spared you from one of
your father's murderers.

Talha was taken to a ruined house in Basra
where he died.

Sunni references:

- Tabaqat, by Ibn Sa'ad, v3, part 1, p159 - al-Isabah, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, v3, pp 532-533 - History of Ibn al-Athir, v3, p244 - Usdul Ghabah, v3, pp 87-88 - al-Isti'ab, Ibn Abd al-Barr, v2, p766 - History of Ibn al-Kathir, v7, p248 - A similar report is given in al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v3,
pp 169,371

b) al-Zubair

al-Zuhri, another important Sunni narrator who is famous for
his dislike
of Ahlul-Bayt, reported the following dialogue of Imam Ali
with Zubair and
Talha before the start of battle of Camel:
Ali said: 'Zubair, do you
fight me for the blood of Uthman after you
killed him? May God give the
most hostile to Uthman among us the
consequence which that very person
dislikes.

' He said to Talha:

'Talha, you have brought the wife of
the Messenger of God (Aisha) to
use her for war and hid your wife at
your house (in Medina)! Did you
not give me your allegiance?' Talha
said: 'I gave you the allegiance
while the sword was on my neck.

'
(At this point, Ali tried to invite
them to peace, leaving them no
excuse.
) Ali addressed his own
army saying: 'Who among you will
display this Quran and what is in it
to the opposing army with the
understanding that if he loses one
of his hand he will hold the Quran
with his other hand.
?' A youth from Kufa said: 'I will take the
mission.

' Ali went through his
army offering them the mission.

Only
that youth accepted it.
Then
Ali said to him: 'Exhibit this Quran and
say to them: It is between you and
us from its beginning to its end.
Remember God, and spare your blood
and our blood.

'
As the youth called upon them to
resort to the Quran and surrender to
its judgment, the Basrites army
attacked and killed him.

At this time,
Ali said to his army: 'Now the fight
has become legal.

' The battle
then started.

Sunni reference:

History of al-Tabari, Arabic version, Events
of year 36 AH
v4, p905 As we see in the above tradition, Imam Ali clearly stated
that Zubair was
among those who killed Uthman.

Had the revolters
elected Talha or Zubair
instead of Imam Ali (AS) as Caliph, they would have given the
killers of
Uthman the biggest prize.

Certainly the leaders did
not seek revenge for
the blood of Uthman, for they themselves were behind the
plot.

They only
pretended to do that as a means of destroying the Imam's
caliphate.

c) Aisha

Talha and Zubair were not the only collaborators against
Uthman.

Sunni
history tells us that Talha's cousin, Aisha, was
collaborating and
campaigning against Uthman as well.

The following
paragraph also from the
History of al-Tabari shows the cooperation of Aisha with
Talha in
overthrowing Uthman:

While Ibn Abbas was setting out for
Mecca, he found Aisha in al-Sulsul
(seven miles south of Medina).

Aisha
said: O' Ibn Abbas, I appeal to
you by God, to abandon this man (Uthman)
and sow doubt about him among
the people, for you have been given
a sharp tongue.

(By the current
siege over Uthman) people have shown
their understanding, and light is
raised to guide them.

I
have seen Talha has taken the possession of
the keys to the public treasuries
and storehouses.

If he becomes
Caliph (after Uthman), he will
follow the path of his parental
cousin Abu-Bakr.

Ibn Abbas said: O' Mother (of believers), if
something happens to that man (i.
e.
,
Uthman), people would seek asylum
only with our companion (namely,
Ali).

Aisha replied: Be quiet! I
have no desire to defy or quarrel
with you.

Sunni reference:

History of al-Tabari, English version, v15,
pp 238-239
Many Sunni historian reported that Once Aisha went to Uthman
and asked for
her share of inheritance of Prophet (after so many years
passed from the
death of Prophet).

Uthman refrained to give Aisha
any money by reminding
her that she was one those who testified and encouraged Abu-Bakr
to refrain
to pay the share of inheritance of Fatimah (AS).

So
if Fatimah does not
have any share of inheritance, then why should she? Aisha
became extremely
angry at Uthman, and came out saying:
Kill this old fool (Na'thal), for he
is unbeliever.

Sunni references:

- History of Ibn Athir, v3, p206 - Lisan al-Arab, v14, p141 - al-Iqd al-Farid, v4, p290 - Sharh Ibn Abi al-Hadid, v16, pp 220-223
Another Sunni historian, al-Baladhuri, in his history (Ansab
al-Ashraf)
said that when the situation became extremely grave, Uthman
ordered Marwan
Ibn al-Hakam and Abdurrahman Ibn Attab Ibn Usayd to try to
persuade Aisha
to stop campaigning against him.

They went to her
while she was preparing
to leave for pilgrimage, and they told her:
We pray that you stay in
Medina, and that Allah may save this man
(Uthman) through you.

Aisha said: I have prepared my means of
transportation and vowed to perform
the pilgrimage.

By God, I shall
not honor your request.
I
wish he (Uthman) was in one of my sacks so
that I could carry him.
I
would then through him into the sea.

Sunni reference:

Ansab al-Ashraf, by al-Baladhuri, part 1,
v4, p75

d) Amr Ibn al-Aas

Amr Ibn al-Aas (the number 2 person in the government of
Muawiyah) was one
of the most dangerous agitators against Uthman and he had all
the reasons
to conspire against him.

He was the governor of
Egypt during the reign of
the second Caliph.

However, the third Caliph
dismissed him and replaced him
with his foster brother, Abdullah Ibn Sa'd Ibn Abu Sharh.

As
a result of
this, Amr became extremely hostile towards Uthman.

He
returned to Medina
and started a malicious campaign against Uthman, accusing him
of many wrong
doings.

Uthman blamed Amr and spoke to him harshly.

This
made Amr even more
bitter.
He used to meet Zubair and Talha and
conspire against Uthman.
He
used to meet pilgrims and inform them of the numerous
deviations of Uthman.
According to Tabari, when Uthman was besieged, Amr settled in
the palace of
al-Ajlan and used to ask from people about the situation of
Uthman:

Amr had not left his
seat before a second rider passed by.

Amr
called him out: How is Uthman
doing? The man replied: He has been
killed.

Amr then
said: I am Abu Abdillah.

When I scratch an
ulcer,
I cut it off.

(i.
e.
,
when I desire an object, I attain it).

I have
been provoking (people) against him,
even the shepherd on the top of
mountains with his flock.

Then Salamah Ibn Rawh said to him: You,
the Quraishites, have broken a
strong tie between yourselves and
the Arabs.

Why did you do
that? Amr replied: We wanted to draw the
truth out of the pit of falsehood,
and to have people be on an equal
footing as regards the truth.

Sunni reference:

History of al-Tabari, English version, v15,
pp 171-172
The divider of Muslims ignored what is well known in the
history of Islam
which was reported by important Sunni reporters.

The
revolt against Uthman
was as a result of the efforts of influential companions in
Medina, such as
Aisha, Talha, Zubair, Aburrahman Ibn Ouf, and Amr Ibn al-Aas.

The
murder of
Uthman provided a nice scapegoat for those who were fighting
over more
power, while serving under the government of Uthman.

They
were mainly his
relatives, the Umayad, such as Muawiyah and Marwan, who
thoroughly took
advantage of Uthman's life as well as his death.

Imam Ali said in the battle of Camel:

Truth and falsehood can not be
identified by the virtue of people.
First understand the truth, you will
then realize who is adhering to
it.

(Nahjul Balaghah, by
Imam Ali)